Easing the Future
by Icylone
Summary: In the final battle with Voldemort, things took for the worst. In a last act of desperation, Remus, Minerva, and Tonks sent the Boy-who-lived to the Dimension witch, hoping for more time for Harry to train. A team is formed and a journey is beginning. Rewritten under "The Last Resort" - 9/12/2013
1. The Magical World

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, but as far as I know, this is a plot I've never seen before. So I guess I can claim it as mine.

Summary: In the final battle with Voldemort, things took for the worst. In a last act of desperation, Remus Lupin, Minerva Mcgonagall, and Nymphadora Tonks sent the Boy-who-lived to the Dimension witch, hoping for more time for Harry to train. A team is formed and a journey is beginning. Sakura/Syaoran. No other pairings.

* * *

CHAPTER 1- The Magical World

_"If things ever go wrong, if the war takes a turn for the worse, this will be our last plan. Our last resort to save this world from Voldemort,"Dumbledore announced grimly to the assembled group of his most trusted, consisting of Remus, Tonks, Minerva, Sirius and Harry. _

_"Is that really necessary, Albus?" Minerva asked worriedly, an unpleasant feeling uncoiling within her at the mere thought of what things would be like if they had to use the plan._

_Dumbledore kept quiet for a while, and the rest stayed silent, wrapped up in their grim thoughts of war. Many Order members were already dead, the most recent death being Mad-eye's._

_"I'm afraid it just might, Minerva," the aged wizard broke the tense silence, "Just...as a last resort. But it has a low possibility of working. It is only to be our very last resort, if all else fails and there is no hope anymore."_

_They stood up to leave as Mrs Weasley called for them to have dinner. "Harry, Remus, Minerva, Sirius, Tonks, keep this a secret from the rest. If things go well, this plan would not be needed at all."_

_Harry nodded a little hesitantly in reply as he thought about his best friends, while the rest gave nods of affirmation. "Please, Harry, they can't know." Dumbledore pleaded quietly._

_Harry finally agreed, albeit a little reluctantly._

"Hermione!" Harry cried out as he watched her fall to a Death Eater's curse from the back. Killing the Death Eater easily, he ran towards her, tears blinding his vision. _Not Hermione, no, he just lost Ron, he can't lose her as well._

But it was too late. Harry just watched helplessly, as his best friend was swallowed by death. He stared blankly, tears starting to fall down his cheeks as he cried for the injustice of it all.

A stray curse missed him by inches, reminding him of his surroundings. He was in battle. A battle which they were barely holding their own against. Harry stood up, just in time to engage another death eater whom had sent a killing curse at him.

Sending a quick _stupefy _towards the death eater, he glanced at his surroundings, hoping that he would not see the still forms of anyone he knew. It was too much to hope for, however, as it was obvious at a glance just how many Order members had perished, compared to the meagre amount of deaths on the dark side. He averted his eyes quickly; it wouldn't do to get distracted and get hit in the back by a curse.

Harry ran towards where he could still see a few Order members standing, holding their own even though they were clearly outmatched. A few death eaters moved to block him, but he managed to get rid of them and continue, though he was rewarded with more lacerations. They were relatively minor, however, compared to the other injuries he had, so Harry simply blocked them out and went on.

Remus, Minerva and Tonks moved almost gracefully in battle. They made a great team, each knowing what they had to do to protect one another from harm. Their combination, however beautifully lethal, was not enough to defend against the swarm of death eaters, outnumbering them by many times. Harry sent spell after spell at the death eaters, trying to help, however, some of them simply turned to engage him and the three members continued to be swarmed. All four were tiring quickly. The battle had been going on for _hours. _However experienced or well-trained they were, they simply didn't stand a chance against Voldemort's death eaters. And it was so even now when Voldemort was not personally involved in the battle. This would probably be considered a minor raid to him, Harry thought bitterly as he struggled to hold his own.

Tonks let out a cry as a cutting curse severed her ankle, that spilt second of her faltering was all the death eaters needed to successfully knock out Remus and Minerva. Harry, distracted by the fall of the last Order members, was easily sent spiralling into the darkness.

* * *

"Harry? Harry, wake up," Someone was shaking him. He grouchily batted the hands away, snuggling into what he thought was a pillow when pain flooded his senses. Immediately he sat right up, gasping at the tight pain at his side. Glancing down, he saw a deep wound covered with a mixture of fresh and dried blood. He resisted a groan and looked around. Remus, Minerva and Tonks were awake, staring at him with a glimmer of worry.

"You alright, Harry?" Tonks asked, without much feel in it. She knew he was not alright. None of them were. But injuries had became so common that all of them had slowly learnt to dismiss it and simply dwell on how they were going to survive the new day.

Harry shrugged and looked around at his surroundings. They looked to be in a cell. As far as he could see, the cell was empty. It was dark and he had to squint to even make out the features of Tonks, who was sitting the furthest from him. Her ankle (or what used to be there) was bleeding profusely, but she seemed to be fine at the moment, with only excessive blood loss to worry about judging by the pale expression on her face.

They stayed silent for a while, the fact that they were probably in Voldemort's hold being painfully obvious to them. But was it that bad to die, even if it was in the hands of Voldemort? Harry had to wonder. He had nothing to live for now. Ron and Hermione was dead. Arthur Weasley was captured and presumed dead. Almost all of Hogwarts students were dead. Hell, more than half of Britain was dead, muggle or magical. The war had even gone on to America, and the last that Harry knew was that there was a death toll of more then 5 million people. That was the statistics from about 3 months ago, and he knew that the numbers had probably tripled if not more. The whole world seemed to be bathed in blood. Muggles was slaughtering wizards out of fear and vice versa, Voldemort was slaughtering light wizards, and governments were sacrificing thousands of innocents to try to save the situation, actions made for the 'Greater Good'. Harry had seen the atrocities that humans could do, and it made a very ugly picture. Everyone was struggling to save their own skin, not batting an eyelid at betraying the people they loved just to live to see one more day. Others committed suicide, not wanting to see anymore of the war. Harry yearned to do that, but he knew that he was the one destined to defeat Voldemort. He couldn't be selfish, no matter how impossible the task seemed.

"Harry," His former Transfiguration professor spoke up, breaking the tense silence.

Harry tilted his head to the right in reply.

"Remember the... the last operation? The one which Al-Albus said it was the last resort? If all else fails and there is no more hope."

Remus widened his eyes as he thought of the implications of that statement. "We could send Harry to _her. _He could train and come back to fight. A wish for more time," Remus whispered, repeating what Dumbledore had shared with them.

Harry shook his head, his heart crushing painfully, "It has to be performed by four people. If I am the one being sent, you need one more person." All that hard work, the silent wish that it would save them if all else fails, and Operation Last Resort was in the end, just a wish that never came true. It would not save the world. It seemed that the world had a very grim future indeed.

"To hell with the rules, Harry," Tonks said venomously, "I am sick of seeing this war-torn world. Sick of living in this world. If there is a way to save this, no matter how impossible seeming, I am going to give it a try. I don't give a damn if we survive or not. I'll rather die trying to resist them than die by their hands." Her hair was dull in colour, a colour that had remained ever since the war really started. She had changed from the once bubbly girl to a tired war veteran who just wanted war to end, just like all of them.

Remus and Minerva nodded, a spark of their old selves returning. Their determination, which had slowly diminished throughout the war, was back. And Harry found himself nodding along. All of them felt a sense of optimism for the first time in a long while.

The three joined hands, with Harry in the middle, and they started a long chant in old Celtic. Bill had discovered the spell on accident, and after handing the relic with the carved words on it to Dumbledore, he had been killed by enraged death eaters who wanted the spell. Dumbledore was killed for the same reason, although he had been wise enough to destroy it beforehand after teaching it to Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Minerva and Harry. Typical Dumbledore, he continued to defy the control of Tom Riddle even beyond his death. Sirius had died soon after, however, after shielding Harry from the killing curse.

Remus started first, the chant being very familiar after months of thinking about it relentlessly. Harry repeated after him, his blood as the necessary sacrifice for the spell. This process was repeated for the other two. As Harry started to repeat after Minerva, who had gone last, they heard footsteps approaching. Harry sped up and completed the spell/ritual successfully. Minerva, Tonks and Remus started to feel a deep fatigue seep into their bones, their body systems shutting down as the spell sucked in all of their physical, mental and magical energy. A bright light engulfed Harry and he started to disappear from the cell. Before he fully disappeared, however, he saw the relief, happiness and acceptance in all of their eyes, before they slumped down, clearly dead. And as he disappeared, he heard an enraged scream from Voldemort as he sent a spell at him, but he disappeared mere milliseconds before it could hit him.

And Harry James Potter was off to his next great adventure.

* * *

How was it? I have been pondering this story in my head for quite a while. Well, the sad thing is that while I can think up creative plots, i lose interest quickly. Hope that won't happen for this story though :))

As you can see, Harry hasn't changed that much, he still detests killing, choosing to stun, only killing when absolutely needed, like avenging Hermione. Unfortunetely, this works against him. Any questions feel free to ask me, questions keep me expanding my plot and making things more interesting. Constructive critism definitely needed. Don't worry, I'm not one of those who'll lash out at opinions with reason. It is just not common sense.

Sorry for any errors, in English or otherwise, like my facts. This is AU, though, so you notice Sirius dying later than he does in cannon. And in a different way. Please help to correct me as I have no beta. Unless I get a comment that my English is horrendous, then I will get a beta. I am one of those who edit her work regularly, so i may be of trouble to the beta :))

Icylone


	2. The Start of The Journey

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, but as far as I know, this is a plot I've never seen before. So I guess I can claim it as mine.

Summary: In the final battle with Voldemort, things took for the worst. In a last act of desperation, Remus Lupin, Minerva Mcgonagall, and Nymphadora Tonks sent the Boy-who-lived to the Dimension witch, hoping for more time for Harry to train. A team is formed and a journey is beginning. Sakura/Syaoran. No other pairings.

Warnings: Mild language, as well as a hint of Harry/Ginny. Very small hint, just a crush that never developed.

* * *

Chapter 2- The start of a journey

The swirling darkness pushed against him mercilessly, squeezing him to the point where it was a much worser experience than apparition. Harry Potter resisted the urge to screw his eyes shut despite the pressure on his eyes, causing them to water. As soon as it had come, however, it was gone as he felt his feet touch hard ground.

"...You may go," He heard a woman's voice pronounce. Turning around sharply, he noticed a strange group of 4 standing in a magic circle, a strange creature and a woman next to them. They seemed to be preparing to leave, he noted. The woman, seeming to sense his presence, turned to face him, along with 2 of the adults in the group. He noticed the younger member of the group turn around slower, and deduced he wasn't a trained fighter yet.

"Are you the Dimension Witch?"

"Yes, I am," was the woman's reply. Harry took the hint and introduced himself. "I am Harry J. Potter, from the country of Britain. I would like to ask for a wish."

"Do you know where you are?" She asked, face expressionless all the while.

Harry faltered. Albus had not shared with them the intricate details of the plan before his untimely demise. All he knew was that wishes would be granted here for a price. He replied negatively and told her of what he knew.

The Dimension Witch nodded. "And so, you are here because you have a wish."

"I wish for more time," Harry began. "More time so I can fulfill what I was meant to do."

A fleeting look of hesitation passed over her face, but it was gone quickly. "You have the same wish as the three of them," she motioned towards the group. "Even if you offer me your most precious things, it would not be enough. But if your price was shared with them, meaning if you travelled together with them, you might be able to afford it. All four of your wishes are the same. As I told them earlier, you have different reasons, but the method is the same. Travelling to different dimensions, that is what you need. But you alone cannot make the wish happen. You have to combine the payment."

It wasn't a hard choice to make. If he returned back to his world, their sacrifice would be in vain and the Wizarding world would perish soon after. As long as he had one more hope to save his world, nothing else really mattered anymore. He would hold on to the shred of hope and do his best.

"What is the price then?" His voice came out cool and confident.

"Your price... is your identity. Your friends will not remember who you are, only taking you for what you seem to be," She hinted at his celebrity status, which had became more of a hated status as he failed to end the war. "Even if you manage to fulfill your destiny, they will never remember the times they had with you."

Harry hid a flinch as he heard the words. To others, it may seem almost insignificant compared to his wish, but to him, his friends were the only ones who saw him as who he was, after the harsh treatment at the Dursleys and the Daily Prophet, the worship by the Wizarding world, the hatred by the children of Death Eaters or those affected by the war. He knew if he managed to end the war, his friends would be unable to see him as more than just a hero, having forgotten him and seeing him just as the Boy-who-lived. To someone who had never experienced much acceptance and love in his life, the price was taking away all these that he had.

But he knew what to do. Even if he had to suffer a little, he would much rather his friends and other innocents survive and forget him than condemning them to die. He already knew what to do, the choice was rather simple to choose, but hard to make.

"Alright," he whispered, trying not to betray the turmoil that was swirling inside him. "I accept."

The Dimension witch nodded and did a complex piece of magic before pointing him towards the group. He made his way over to them, and as he got closer, he could feel the pure magic power from the blonde, a magic so different from his that he was unable to gauge how strong he was. The aura of danger came visibly from the blonde guy and the black-haired guy. The brown-haired kid held a girl in his hands protectively, and Harry could tell that he was willing to do anything to protect her.

"Mokona," the Dimension Witch called out to a white bun-like creature. "You may go."

Mokona bounced excitedly, wings sprouting from its back and enveloping them. It opened its mouth and the group was sucked in, off to a new dimension.

Yuuko stood there for a long while after they departed. "How is this unknown factor going to change everything?" she murmured to herself. "Either way, I wish you four the best of luck in your journey."

* * *

Harry woke up with a start, getting into a defensive position as he groped for his wand. He looked around the room, noticing that the blonde and black-haired guys were awake, staring at him. He dropped his defensive position but moved comfortably against a wall first, his hand dropping as he remembered that his wand was taken from him.

"You are awake," the blonde guy greeted him cheerfully, though Harry felt there was something off to his cheerfulness. "I'm Fai D. Flourite, but just call me Fai. That black guy over there," Fai said, pointing towards the dark-haired guy who exuded a sense of danger. He was interrupted by a growl, however. "Its Kurogane to you."

"I'm Harry."

Fai gave him a smile while Kurogane replied with a grunt. Harry didn't know what to think about them. Fye seemed dangerous magically, but he felt that Fai would not use it intentionally to hurt them. Harry's own magic, however, was telling him to be wary around Fai because of the vibe off him. He gave off a vibe of someone who was hiding something big. Harry reasoned that he had done that several times in his life, even now, hiding his past. Anyway, Fai seemed friendly enough, so that was enough reason to be nice back for the time being at least.

Kurogane was easier to consider. From what he could deduce, Kurogane was a gruff man with a ultimately kind heart. Harry had enough experiences with Severus Snape to identify someone like Kurogane. He supposed as long as he was not regarded an enemy, Kurogane would be an alright guy to get along with. That didn't mean he would lower his guard around him though.

Harry leaned against the wall, hiding a wince as he accidentally jostled some of his more delicate injuries. With a start, he looked down at his robes, realising he was stained with blood. Injuries of different magnitude littered his body. _Guess this was why they were staring at me then, _he thought wryly. Frowning, he tried to poke at his injuries to see how serious they really were, since he didn't have a wand and wandless magic was especially draining, even to the most powerful of wizards and witches.

"Here, let me help you with that," Fai offered, moving towards him. Before Harry could say anything, the brown-haired kid woke up with a start, still holding on to the girl. "It's okay, they can wait till later," Harry told Fai, watching the kid carefully.

A strange expression passed through Fai's face for a brief moment before it was quickly covered with a smile as he turned to the kid, who was staring at the girl in his arms rather worriedly.

"Even while you slept, you wouldn't let the girl go," Fai commented casually. "We tried to dry her off though, she got pretty wet in the rain."

At his words, Harry vaguely remembered it was raining at the Dimension Witch's place. No wonder his clothes were rather damp. Well, he had too many things on his mind at that time, like how Minerva, Remus and Tonks sacrificed themselves for him.. No, this was not the time to grieve for them, he reminded himself forcibly and pulled out of his depressing thoughts. He had a mission now and he couldn't let their sacrifice be in vain.

"Call me Syaoran," the brown-haired kid, who looked to be about his age, told Fai at his probing.

"My name is pretty long, so just call me Fai," Fai smiled, before motioning towards Kurogane and him. "And we have Kuro-tan over there and Harry." Harry could not resist a small grin at the playful banter between Fai and Kurogane. His grin faded as he remembered how similar Ron and Hermione was to them, before they were killed...

A startled shout from Syaoran brought him out of his melancholy thoughts and he pushed all the depressing thoughts behind a wall in his mind

"Is this a piece of her memory?" Fai asked, holding up a shining feather. Harry looked at the feather curiously. That was a memory of the girl's? Was this what Syaoran was searching for?

Syaoran looked to be rather surprised by the revelation, prompting Fai to explain. "It was stuck to you. Only one though."

Syaoran seemed far off in thought for a moment before Fai released the feather. The feather floated towards the girl and sunk in her chest. Harry was rather confused, but managed to piece together what was happening to give a satisfactory answer. Kurogane had a small frown on his face but kept quiet, simply observing.

"Her body... is a little warmer now," Syaoran muttered with no small amount of relief.

"If you hadn't had that feather, it might have been a problem," Fai observed, grinning.

"By coincidence, one stuck to my clothes..."

"There is no coincidence in the world," Fai announced, looking rather solemn all of a sudden. "That's what the witch said, isn't it? My guess is that you grabbed it subconsciously, out of your desire to save the girl," He continued, giving Syaoran a gentle smile.

A meaningful silence dragged out for a while before Fai broke it, slumping against the wall casually. "Of course, I don't even know what I'm talking about," He gave a silly grin and stretched. Harry felt the urge to laugh at the blonde's antics, as well as Kurogane's expression at that. Syaoran had a bewildered expression on his face, and Harry snickered, unable to hold it in. Fai shrugged and continued, "But I wonder how we can find them now, I doubt any more will turn up in our clothes."

The white creature, whom Harry remembered was addressed by the Dimension Witch as Mokona, jumped up in the air triumphantly. "Mokona knows!" It shouted cheerfully. "The feather gives out these really huge waves. So, when the feathers are close, Mokona was feel those really huge waves and will be like," Mokona thumped his cheeks enthusiastically and came out with an expression of really huge eyes and a grin. "this!"

Kurogane gave a flabbergasted expression, letting out a startled exclamation before holding a hand to his heart rather comically. Fai smiled. "Well, it looks like we have a way now. If we get close, Mokona will let us know."

"Will you please let us know when you feel Sakura's feather then?" Syaoran asked Mokona with a serious expression on his face. Harry mentally took note of the girl's name.

Mokona thumped his chest and nodded.

"Search or not, it's up to you. It has nothing to do with me. I'm here to get back to my own world, that's the only reason. Don't expect me to risk my life for you, because I won't," Kurogane suddenly interrupted, his voice rather cold.

"Yes, this is my mission here. I'll do my best not to create trouble for you, sir." Syaoran said respectfully, startling both Kurogane and Harry. Fai seemed unaffected by the words. Harry scrutinised the teenager in front of him, wondering if Syaoran had gone through a similar experience to him. Syaoran was uncharacteristically serious for his young age.

Kurogane recovered his bearings quickly. "Well, what about you two? Are you going to help the brat out?" He growled.

Harry thought carefully. He understood where Kurogane was coming from. He had his own mission to fulfill, his own world to save. He would be busy enough without helping someone else. Besides, he couldn't really afford to die in this mission. If he did, the Wizarding World and the Muggle World would be gone, because of his foolish actions. But as his eyes drifted towards Syaoran and Sakura, he could see the concern Syaoran had for her. The love. Harry remembered how Ron and Hermione had loved each other, how he had a crush on Ginny at first, how his parents and Sirius and everyone loved him, and how the remaining Order members had sacrificed themselves for him. Could he really play a part in dennying that love? He could see that Syaoran needed help. He wasn't fully trained yet, that much was obvious. He supposed he could train by helping Syaoran as well, as he himself was not the best of fighters. And now, without his wand, he himself was also rather helpless. He needed allies as well.

Jolting himself back to the present, he realised everyone was staring at him, waiting for his answer. "If it doesn't threaten my life, then yes, I will help you to the best of my ability," Harry replied. "It'll be good for me too."

Syaoran gave him a grateful smile and thanked him while Fai laughed as Kurogane went into a sulk.

"YO!" A man greeted loudly as he entered in through the door with a woman. Harry didn't react, having already sensed his presence. He noticed that his three companions were similarly unsurprised. Kurogane and Fai was to be expected, but Syaoran... Harry suspected that perhaps Syaoran was more well-trained than he seemed to be.

"So you're all awake now," the man bustled about cheerfully. "Hey! No need to get all tensed up. You came from Yuuko right?"

Harry surmised that this 'Yuuko' the man was talking about must be the Dimension Witch. He nodded affirmatively.

"I'm Sorata Arisugawa, and this is my honey, my love..." Sorata drifted off.

"I'm Arashi," the woman sent a briefly exasperated look at Sorata.

Syaoran and Fai began to introduce themselves, and Harry hid a laugh as Sorata place his hands on Kurogane's shoulders and warned him about touching his wife, in a joking manner. "Why do you only say that to me?" Kurogane roared. Sorata gave him a silly face. "Relax, relax. But I wasn't joking.." "I won't, dammit!"

Arashi approached Harry with some ointments, offering to help treat his wounds. Harry thanked her but took the ointments from her instead, saying that he would treat them himself later.

"Anyway," Sorata began, walking towards the window. "You guys are real lucky. Mokona has brought you to..." He pulled open the window. "The Republic of Hanshin!"

Harry, between applying ointment to and bandaging his wounds, listened attentively as Sorata and Arashi began to give them a history lesson on the country using a puppet show, with witty comments inserted every now and then. He found out that Syaoran used to work on archaeological digs, which Harry remembered from his primary school that it was sort of digging a piece of land to find some historical items, to study the past. Or something like that.

Noticing that Kurogane was sleeping, he made to wake the man up, but before he could, Sorata shouted at Kurogane and an unseen force hit the back of Kurogane's head despite the fact that he was leaning his head against the wall.

Kurogane shot up like an arrow, as did Fai and Harry, while Syaoran crawled protectively towards Sakura. "I didn't feel a presence. Who did that?" Narrowing his eyes at Sorata, he scowled accusingly at him. "You bastard! You threw something at me, didn't you?"

"You were in a corner. If he threw something at you, it wouldn't have hit you where it hit," Fai analysed logically, looking around for any enemies.

"Unless he threw it from above, then," Harry continued, peering at the ceiling suspiciously before directing his gaze towards Sorata and Arashi.

Arashi looked as calm as always while Sorata looked bewildered. "Er... what?" He asked. "That was just my kudan, that's all."

"Kudan?" The four of them echoed, confused. Harry tried to remember if there were any obscure form of magic that was called _kudan_, but came up short.

"Oh right!" Sorata smacked himself on the head. "Of course you wouldn't know. You are all from different worlds, after all."

Sorata delved into an explanation about the kudan, with Arashi adding in useful comments every now and then.

"Both of you have lost your method of fighting," Arashi suddenly stated, glancing at Kurogane and Fai. "And you, partly as well. You have lost most of your method of fighting, though not at the hands of Yuuko, though." She stared at Harry, making him fidget a little.

"I handed my magic to the witch," Fai offered.

"That bitch took my sword!" Kurogane muttered bitterly.

"My means of fighting was taken from me, but I can still fight, though I am weakened considerably without it," Harry divulged generously.

"I didn't give her any weapons or magic. I never had it from the start," Syaoran shared as Arashi glanced at him.

"There is kudan in this world. It can be used to aid you to fighting. What you use it for... is up to you."

Harry was startled by the situation. "You mean that such a dangerous choice is put in the hands of every citizen in this country?" Harry could only imagine the chaos if that choice was given to the people of his world, without any laws. "Are there no laws enforced to keep them in line?"

"There are people who help to stop others who go out of line, but mostly the citizens of the country just keep the peace."

Harry kept himself from questioning the 'mostly' and merely nodded. He supposed that there were bound to be some wayward citizens every now and then.

"You can use these rooms until you leave this world," Sorata started. "This is an apartment building, so there will be plenty of space. You three wouldn't mind sharing a room, would you?" He motioned towards Kurogane, Fai and Harry.

"Not at all!" Fai chirped as they were led to their room. Kurogane protested rather loudly, asking why he had to share a room with an idiot like Fai. Harry kept quiet, worrying about his nightmares, whether they will wake them up. He longed to cast a silencing ward around himself, but he didn't have his wand and his magic was still too depleted from the battle to even attempt wandless magic.

Fai leaned against the wall, stretching his legs out as he prepared to go to sleep. Kurogane, still grumbling a little, took up another corner of the room. Harry did the same, drawing his legs up to his chest and pretending to go to sleep as the lights went out. It was only when he heard the pair's steady breathing that he dared to look up and sigh softly. His wounds still stung a little but it was nothing he could not endure. His eyes struggled to open from the exhaustion of the day's events catching up to him. The battle, the imprisionment, the wish, the introductions, it was almost surreal to him. He knew that he should go to sleep so that his magical reserves could be restored faster, but he feared the nightmares that would come.

Suddenly, his eyes struggled even more to open as he felt a deep exhaustion and sleepiness overtake him, almost unaturally in its suddeness. As his eyes fluttered close, he noticed a couple of very tiny runes near Fai, with the magician tracing them in a minute motion.

* * *

"Thank you for yesterday," Harry said softly to Fai as the three of them prepared to go out and meet Syaoran and Mokona. Fai replied with a politely confused look and his trademark smile. Harry decided to let him be. If Fai didn't want him to probe too much, he wouldn't. It was similar to the fact that he himself would be unwilling to share too much with a couple of people he had just met yesterday.

Kurogane frowned at them but said nothing. The three traisped down to the living room in silence, where they found Syaoran, Mokona, Arashi and Sorata. After exchanging goodbyes with Sorata and Arashi, the gang left to explore the town.

"Good morning, gentlemen! Would you like to buy an apple?" An elderly vendor asked as they passed by the grocery.

Harry noticed the bewildered looks over the apple that the man was holding. "Er, why are you staring at the apple so strangely?"

"That...is an apple?" Syaoran asked, confusion visible on his face.

The man grinned at him, obviously thinking that Syaoran was joking with him. "Of course it is an apple, laddie. What else could it be?" Harry nodded in agreement, wondering what in the world was going on.

"In my world it looks pale yellow instead, but similar in shape to that," Syaoran explained softly to them.

"That is a pear!" Kurogane said, thinking of the fruit in his world.

"No, a pear is redder and has leaves on the top," Syaoran frowned.

"Isn't that a tomato?" Harry asked, completely bewildered with the conversation.

"Nope, that is a strawberry, isn't it?" Fai piped in.

The elderly vendor looked to be fed up with their confusing conversation. "OI! Are you going to buy or not?" Mokona made the decision for them and a while later they stood at a bridge, enjoying the fruit.

"Looks like we really have different cultures," Syaoran noted, biting into his apple. Harry nodded in agreement.

"Now that I think about it, I never asked, how did you get to the shop of the Dimension Witch?" Fai directed the question to the three of them.

"There is a High Priest where I came from. He sent me there," Syaoran replied. "Impressive," Fai commented. "It's hard to send just one person, but he sent two!" Syaoran nodded in agreement. "He was a great Priest."

"The princess of my country sent me away- by force," Kurogane gritted his teeth. Harry noticed the flash of anger and betrayal in his eyes.

"Ah ha! Kuro-rin must have done something wrong and was punished!" Fai teased, laughing at him along with Mokona.

"Shut up, you idiot! What about you yourself then? Who sent you?"

"No one. I sent myself," Fai replied casually. "When I muster all my magical abilities, getting myself from one dimension to the other is all I can do."

"Why did you ever go to that witch then? Just do everything yourself!" Kurogane exclaimed. Fai shook his head. "It takes a lot of magical power. It takes out all that a person has. Most people only have the ability to send someone or themselves to another dimension once. Only the Dimension Witch has the power to do this many times. How did you get to the shop then, Harry?"

Harry winced at the question. He had been hoping to be excluded from the conversation. "It took three people to send me there. In my world however, it was supposed to be accomplished by four people instead."

"What happened to them then, since it was only three people?" Mokona asked, rather insensitively.

"They died," Harry stated simply. "It took too much out of them."

A scream broke the tense silence that had fallen over them. Turning to face the source of the commotion, they noticed a fight brewing between two sides over territorial issues.

"He may have a strong kudan, but don't let that faze you, guys!" One of the sides shouted before both sides raised their hands and started firing at each other. The scene reminded Harry of the war he had just came from, and he had to remind himself over and over again so that he would not join in the fight and kill them.

"What the hell is wrong with kids these days?" He heard himself saying, and found Kurogane agreeing with him.

As Harry continued to watch the battle dispassionately, showing none of the conflict in him, the leader of one of the sides stood up, a creature that seemed to be made of water beside him. Harry identified the creature as something like a stingray, confirming that it was indeed a kudan as he knew that stingrays cound not float in midair or live above water for long periods of time.

The stingray-like kudan sprung up before unleashing a powerful wave of water towards the ground where the other side was at.

"Watch out!" Syaoran suddenly shouted before running towards where the water would hit. He wrapped his arms around a boy and covered him with his body.

Before Harry, Fai and Kurogane could reach him, the water has already impacted. But a blazing fire fended off the water, seemingly coming from Syaoran.

_His kudan_, Harry realised with a jolt, _It is protecting him from the water. A kudan of fire._

As the last of the water was evaporated by the fire, Harry looked up at the leader.

"So, it seems you have a special kudan as well," the leader said, gazing at the crouched form of Syaoran. "A kudan that can wield fire, as mine wields water. This will be an interesting fight." Without further warning, he sent a great blast of water towards Syaoran, a dangerous attack if not for Syaoran's kudan, which formed a shield to protect Syaoran and the innocent. The fire materialised into a dangerous looking fire-maned wolf, growling threateningly at the leader.

"I am Shougo Asagi. You?"

"...Syaoran"

Shougo seemed to be about to say something before one of his men yelled out a warning; the cops were on their way. With a sigh, Shougo and his men exited the scene swiftly, the only sign of their previous presence the destruction of the entire street. The wolf threw itself at Syaoran with a great leap, sinking into him. Syaoran frowned and held a hand to his chest, but decided that the safety of the innocent was more important.

"Are you alright?" Syaoran asked the boy, before noticing another similar-looking boy beside him. The other boy disappeared in a puff of smoke, startling him. "He...He disappeared!" Syaoran exclaimed, looking around frantically. The boy explained that it was his kudan.

After everyone had calmed down and found Mokona, Mokona told them indignantly, "Just now, at the battle, Mokona went," Mokona thumped his cheeks again and drew out his expression, "like this! But nobody paid any attention!"

"Sakura's feather is nearby?" Syaoran shouted, reaching out to hold Mokona in his hands.

"It was...but Mokona can't feel it anymore.."

"Did you figure out who had it?" Harry cut in.

Mokona shook its head forlornly, and a look of disappointment crossed Syaoran's face, before assuring Mokona of his good work.

Mokona recovered almost instantly back to his cheerful demeanor.

"Um... I am sorry, this is all my fault," the boy started hesitantly. "My name is Masayoshi Saito. Thanks for helping me just now. Why not I treat you guys to lunch? I know a really good okonomiyaki restaurant nearby."

Syaoran started to protest politely before Mokona exclaimed that he wanted lunch, and they were treated to a meal, at the same time getting information of the gangs from Masayoshi, and Syaoran meeting the High Priest and King look-a-likes working as the waiters of the restaurant. All in all, it was a rather eventful day.

* * *

Sorry if it seems rather rushed at the end. I think it might get boring if I keep elaborating on every event that occurs, so I skip some scenes. I'm following rather closely to the manga's events now, but i will slowly(Note this word) move away from the manga as each chapter goes. I'm not going to follow every chapter of the manga like this, so I'll jump a little, I'll just get snippets and put it in, not like this whole chunk of a book in this chapter. I just had to do some intoduction first, and the stuff that i put in are important in some way. This is my longest chapter ever in my history of fanfiction, so I hope its not too draggy for you (I felt it was..) I cut it short because of that.

Any suggestions would be greatly welcomed. I am not really a great writer and this is my first time writing a cross-over, so..I need help sometimes. What do you think of this? Too much of copying the manga? Too boring? (Sorry, I know the 'battle' scene sucked, it was my first time writing one..) Constructive criticism is greatly welcome.

Icylone


	3. Kudan, My Companion

Please refer to Chapter 2 for Disclaimer.

Summary: In the final battle with Voldemort, things took for the worst. In a last act of desperation, Remus Lupin, Minerva McGonagall, and Nymphadora Tonks sent the Boy-who-lived to the Dimension witch, hoping for more time for Harry to train. A team is formed and a journey is beginning. Sakura/Syaoran. No other pairings.

Warnings: Mild language.

* * *

Chapter 3 – Kudan, my companion

"They're the same, and yet not the same. The two from Syaoran's world lived a completely different life than these two," Harry dimly heard Fai explain. "But their nature, their soul, they would still be the same, would they not?"

Syaoran looked rather shaken by the strange encounter, and attempted to hide it by staring at his okonomiyaki. Harry understood how he felt. He couldn't imagine meeting someone from Hogwarts in these worlds. Seamus, Dean, Luna, all of his friends, and oh gods, Ron and Hermione, Sirius and Remus, all the people he lost in the war. What he would give to see them living carefree, without Voldemort being a constant looming shadow.

Hermione would be a straight A student, and probably becoming a person of great influence. Perhaps a teacher, Harry thought, remembering Hermione revealing that being her dream when she hadn't known she was magical. Ron, Ron would be a Quidditch player, perhaps with Dean even, both of them being avid fans of Quidditch, or just sports in general.

Harry's lips curved into a small bitter smile subconsciously. Sirius and Remus, and maybe even his father, would be working in a joke shop, perhaps named 'The Marauders' as they were so fond of naming themselves, together with that traitorous rat Peter. Luna, she would-

"Harry?" Masayoshi prodded nervously, bringing the attention of Syaoran, Fai, Kurogane and Mokona onto Harry at the same time.

-be working in a research team, for the strange and mysterious creatures which she was so fond of in her Hogwarts days...

"Harry!" Syaoran repeated, louder and firmer this time.

Harry snapped out of his brief daydream, only to find the occupants of the entire table looking at him, even the naive Mokona had stopped stuffing his face to look at him concernedly.

"I'm fine," Harry responded automatically. "Sorry, just got caught in some thoughts." He steadfastly ignored the concerned and scrutinizing glances and went back to his food.

"Well, uh..." Masayoshi stammered, clearly trying to dispel the sudden tension but not having the courage to do so. Fai gave him an encouraging nod, and he continued, "Well, I was saying that kudan have ranks too! The fourth level is the lowest, and moving up is the third, second and first. Then there's a special level, which is the strongest."

"How do they decide which level the kudan belongs to?" Kurogane spoke up, clearly interested in the conversation. Harry brought his eyes up to Masayoshi's face as well, wanting to know more.

Masayoshi looked a little flustered at the sudden attention but bravely continued. "To get a strong kudan, you need to be a strong person yourself. It's a person's heart that controls the kudan. So if a person can command a strong kudan, that's proof that person is strong!"

* * *

They left the restaurant, Masayoshi leaving to make some phone call. Harry didn't particularly care why he wanted to make a phone call, too busy trying to remember if he had any strange dreams last night, like Syaoran had mentioned earlier.

"You were talking about your dream last night?" Fai's voice jostled Harry back to reality, and he leaned in to hear Syaoran's reply.

"Some creature appeared in my dream. It was a beast of fire," was Syaoran's reply.

"If you are talking about weird dreams of animals, I had one too," Kurogane muttered, crossing his arms. Fai agreed and they turned to stare at Harry, waiting for his response. He gave a casual shrug, which wasn't much of an answer, but they did avert their eyes away from him after that, so he guessed it was adequate enough. He did wonder why they were dreaming about creatures though, since he hadn't had such a thing happen to him.

Suddenly a whole group of people swaggered towards their direction, and they became tense at the sudden action.

"I want to know who this 'Syaoran' is!" A booming voice announced. Harry hid his irritation at the guy who stood in front of them, demanding answers.

"Are you the one who Shougo is interested in?" He continued to demand, his eyes fixated on Fai, who he clearly thought was Syaoran. Harry resisted a derogatory snort at the guy's expense; he was reminding him unpleasantly of the bully Dudley was when he was younger.

"I'm Syaoran," Syaoran stepped forward.

The man continued to go on about some team of Shougo's and how his team was so strong, and so on and so forth. Harry sighed. He wasn't in a very pleasant mood after the incident at the restaurant and this was making things worse. He did snap back to attention when a monstrous _thing _appeared in front of them, though.

"What in the world-" He breathed, staring at the humongous creature which he assumed was the man's kudan.

"Not a good listener, is he?" Fai grinned, and made to step forward, before he was restrained by Kurogane's hand.

"I've been pretty bored around here," Kurogane started. "I'll take you on!" Harry felt strangely relieved yet unhappy by this arrangement.

"Kurogane's been looking forward to this!" teased Mokona. Fai grinned, "Just so his style, right?"

"You gave your sword to the Dimension Witch, Kurogane," Syaoran voiced out worriedly amidst all the noise.

"That sword was used to kill monsters. But kudan aren't monsters, so that's alright." Kurogane glanced towards Harry, who hadn't said a single word about his decision. Harry flashed a thumbs-up and a small grin, and Kurogane turned back to the battle, apparently satisfied that no one had objections to the decision.

"Eat this! _Kaninabe Senkai!_" The kudan charged forward, slicing through an entire pillar, Kurogane just managing to dodge the attacks. Harry narrowed his eyes at the quick reflexes, and focused his full attention on the battle.

"That kudan can sharpen parts of its body to an edge as sharp as a knife!" Masayoshi exclaimed, apparently having returned from his phone call. Harry absorbed the small titbit of information and peered closely at the kudan, taking note of the kudan's body. He could feel Fai and Syaoran beside him doing the exact same thing.

"_Kani Doraku!_" Chaos. Harry narrowed his eyes to get a better view of the battle, just in time to catch Kurogane being flung against the wall with a painful crack.

"Kurogane!" Syaoran shouted in worry, taking a step forward as if ready to intervene. Harry clenched his fists in anxiousness.

"Where's your kudan?" The guy taunted. "You're probably so weak that you're ashamed to bring it out!" He let out a derisive laugh, his gang doing the same behind him. Harry gritted his teeth, disgusted with what was happening. He took a step forward, green eyes glowing eerily.

"Don't." Fai held out a hand to stop his progress. "He will never forgive you if you interfere." Fai gave a grin, seemingly unaffected by what seemed to be Kurogane's loss in the battle. He did frown at the eerie glow of Harry's eyes, however, which still remained unknown to the green-eyed wizard.

Harry forced himself to calm down. Kurogane could handle this one alone. He smirked when Kurogane spoke up, putting a stop to the laughter.

"My kudan has an even tougher shell than most first-class kudan!" The guy boasted, his face a picture of superiority.

Kurogane shook his head. "It has a weakness. Now, if I had a sword, it'll be in pieces already." As he said this, a huge entity rose behind him. He turned around in shock.

"You appeared in my dream!"

The magnificent water dragon flickered before forming a sword, a beautiful sword. Harry could see it was as brilliant as the sword of Gryffindor, which was high praise indeed.

From then on, the tides changed. Kurogane, sword in hand, finished the battle quickly. With a powerful shout, he brought the sword down on the kudan with surprising accuracy, creating a shockwave of power as it impacted.

Harry was impressed. Beyond impressed, actually. His sword-wielding in the Chamber of Secrets now seemed so clumsy, so _amateur, _that he was rather embarrassed. This is it, Harry decided, nodding to himself. This was exactly what he came here to learn, to help him defeat Voldemort. Perhaps help was closer than he thought.

"Y-You are part of Syaoran's team, aren't you!" Kurogane's opponent said accusingly, writhing in pain as his gang helped him up.

Syaoran's team? Well, that was new. He certainly hadn't heard about such a ridiculous thing.

"I serve no one," Kurogane replied quietly, though his voice echoed in the silence. "The only person I've ever served..." He trailed off, and only Harry's sharp hearing heard the soft mutter of 'Princess Tomoyo'.

Harry remembered a phrase he once heard from Hagrid. The half-giant had participated in the fight of Hogwarts, their last stand, and he had roared it loud and clear, when Voldemort attempted to sway the students and staff of Hogwarts to his side. "Dumbledore's man through and through," he smiled softly, not realizing he had muttered it aloud.

* * *

"_But if it is something that can disappear and appear like that, it must be a kudan. A kudan is holding the feather."_

So they had reached that conclusion. Harry was glad. He wanted to get out of this dimension as soon as possible, and quickly finish this journey, learn more skills, and then jump back to defeating Voldemort. He sort of regretted agreeing to help Syaoran. Otherwise, he could have asked Yuuko to give him another travelling device and be on his merry way.

_Unfortunately_, Harry thought, eyes travelling to the quiet Syaoran, who was picking at his food, _it doesn't work that way now, since I've promised._

Promises were important to Harry. He'd never broken a promise before, and he certainly planned on keeping it that way. He was a Gryffindor, and Gryffindors valued honour.

Harry was broken out of his reverie by Fai giving him a nudge. He looked at Fai questioningly, and was replied with a subtle flick of the blue eyes towards Arashi.

"Uh, sorry, can you repeat that please?" Harry asked her, taking the hint for what it was.

Arashi smiled, though her eyes shined with worry. "I was saying, would you like the bottle of ointment again for your injuries?"

Harry inclined his head gratefully and everyone went back to their meal as before. Harry gave a grateful smile towards Fai. The magician had helped him many times, and for that Harry was grateful. Fai grinned back in response, picking up a plate of vegetables and offering it to him.

Harry was briefly reminded of the Burrow by the simple action, one which Molly Weasley had executed frequently, but he clamped the thought down and spooned some vegetables on his plate.

Strangely, he felt as if he was sitting beside one who understood what he was going through.

* * *

Harry opened his bandages carefully, careful not to jostle any injuries. He hadn't felt any pain the whole day, despite moving around so much, and thought that it may not be a very good sign. Injuries didn't heal in a single day.

He peeled the bandage off slowly, bracing himself to see what state his injuries was in. He closed his eyes as he peeled it off fully, and opened them to see...

Nothing.

No injuries, no scar, nothing to even show that a wound had been there. He frowned, a little flabbergasted. Poking the unblemished skin tentatively, he winced at the unexpected spike of pain. Apparently it was still rather raw.

Fai entered the room, holding the bottle of ointment.

"Arashi told me to give it to you, so here you go," he announced cheerfully, crossing to where Harry was sitting.

Harry looked up at the smiling wizard. "I don't think I need it anymore," He replied, a little dazed.

Fai looked at the healed skin, not looking at all surprised. "Magicians tend to heal much faster than normal people," He commented casually, causing Harry to focus on him sharply.

"How do you know?" Harry asked warily.

Fai sat down opposite Harry, crossing his legs together. "Well, it wasn't all that hard, you know," he grinned, "When you first arrived at the Dimension Witch's place, I already felt something different about you. I couldn't identify it at first, but when you woke up in that room and I moved closer to you, I finally understood. You have magic as well, strong magic, but a magic so different from mine that it took me a while to identify it."

Harry went silent after Fai's explanation, trying to process what he had just been told. With a jolt, he remembered the strange expression Fai had before Syaoran woke up, just as Fai had moved closer to him.

Fai smiled, and Harry thought he saw a bit of sympathy in his eyes. "You need to rest," he said simply, starting to get up from his sitting position. "I'll just return this to Arashi and tell Kuro-pipi, Syaoran and Mokona to go to bed as well. It's getting pretty late."

"But..." Harry protested, though he was unsure why he felt so bothered by the explanation.

Fai stopped at the door, turning around to smile at him. "Why so bothered?" he teased lightly. "You sensed that I was a magician long before I did that spell."

"At the Dimension Witch's," Harry spoke up, hearing the undertones.

Fai grinned, a look of satisfaction on his face, as if he had just gotten a theory correct, before leaving the room.

* * *

_Where am I? _Harry wondered, staring around at the darkness around him. Shoulders tensed, he tried to conjure something, anything, that would tell him what in the name of Merlin was going on, and hopefully get him out of here.

In his experience, weird dreams like this spelled bad news.

His hands remained empty despite his attempts to summon a light. He frowned lightly. He had always been able to do quite a bit of wandless magic, taught to him by Albus Dumbledore and Alastor Moody, so the failure was bothering him a little.

_Did I get weaker or something? Damn! I really need to get back to some training as soon as possible._

Wandless magic was reputed to be impossible in the Wizarding World, but that was not true. It did require more magic to get the same results compared to as with a wand, but it was perfectly doable. Well, obviously you couldn't do strong magic like the Patronus charm wandlessly without collapsing, but summoning light, levitating things, basic things like those was definitely possible to do wandlessly.

Harry abandoned his attempts, and called out softly, "Anyone there?"

A bright light appeared suddenly, and Harry covered his eyes on reflex. Slowly he opened them, squinting to get a better look.

A majestic stag stood, bearing an uncanny resemblance to his Patronus, except that it had more colour.

"Harry Potter." The stag spoke.

Harry found himself unsurprised at the turn of events; he did grow up in the Wizarding World since he was eleven, after all, and after seeing a bunch of speaking spiders (Acromantula) it was hard to be surprised by something like this.

"Are you my kudan?" He remembered Kurogane, Syaoran and Fai talking about their kudan appearing in their dreams.

The stag seemed to smile. "Yes, young wizard. I have waited long for a worthy one to be my companion. You, young one, you have something in you, a pureness that I have not seen in many centuries."

Harry shook his head vigorously. "I'm not pure. You have no idea, no idea how much I've killed. I've injured, murdered, cheated, did so many things I'm not proud of. Do you know how many people I've led to their death, naively thinking that we could beat him?" Without realising it, tears pooled in his eyes, threatening to fall.

"Do you know that I took away the lives of parents, took away the parents of Teddy, so that I could come here? I was not supposed to fail, but I did, and all of them paid the price for my mistakes. The people I've shared a dorm with, the people I lived with, the Weasleys, everyone I knew, they're either dead or missing! Britain is dying; no scratch that, it is dead because of me!" Tears fell, but Harry made no attempt to wipe them away.

"I feel like joining them, you know, but I... my responsibility has not ended. There are still people alive, hoping for me to somehow create a miracle. I couldn't do anything at all; do you know how helpless I felt? How many times I have wished for a miracle, to take me back to relive everything again, to maybe train more this time, to protect all of them better, so that all of them could live?

Harry took a deep breath, trying to contain himself. The stag remained silent.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take it out on you," Harry muttered after a while, tears wiped away, the only evidence of the incident was his red-rimmed eyes.

"No, you needed to let that out," The stag replied, still staring at Harry calmly.

Harry kept quiet.

"You are pure, no matter what you think," the stag said serenely, "I've never met someone, someone as self-sacrificing, who would do anything to save a world who turned on him so many times, someone who keeps on going despite the odds."

"Pureness," The stag continued, "Pureness is not innocence. I don't think you understand that. Pureness is someone like you, so selfless, so brave. Harry Potter, did you think pureness equals someone who has never killed, someone who was always sheltered, cheerful, who can brighten up anyone's day? That's innocence. A mere stereotype of pureness, in fact."

Harry nodded his head just a fraction; he didn't think he was as great as the stag made him out to be, but he understood what the stag was saying.

The stag smiled. "You passed my test. You, Harry James Potter, are worthy of being my companion. I will aid you in your journey as much as I can." The stag made to disappear, only to be stopped by Harry.

"Yes?"

"What is your name?" Harry asked breathlessly.

"You can call me Prongs," The stag replied, ignoring the way Harry tensed up at the name. "Defender of innocence and life. Or, you can also say I'm the icon of Light."

"Are you my father?" Harry asked pleadingly.

Prongs' eyes were sad. "No, I am not. Do you have any more questions?"

Harry was about to reply in the negative, before he was struck by a question. "Isn't the icon of Light the phoenix? Why you?"

Prongs smiled. "Because I'm your inner animal." With that, he faded away, leaving Harry behind, in where instead of darkness, was light.

* * *

"I guess that nobody has their kudan out while walking," Fai observed. "Then we can't see who has the stronger ones."

"Even if they did, I doubt they'll be willing to give the feather up like that," Kurogane added, pessimistic.

"Well, I'm sure we can do it," Harry said cheerfully. Everyone turned to stare at him, wondering why the usually quiet and gloomy Harry was being so cheerful today.

"What the hell happened to y-MMPH!" Kurogane started, only to be interrupted by Fai's hand covering his mouth.

"I'm sure we would," Fai agreed, grinning as he removed his hand from Kurogane's mouth. Kurogane glared at Fai threateningly, but decided to ignore Harry's sudden cheerfulness, for now.

"Thank you," Syaoran said gratefully. Kurogane grunted a reply, while Mokona, Fai and Harry grinned in return.

"Mokona will do her best!" Mokona exclaimed, thumping his chest confidently. Kurogane snorted, and Mokona whacked him on the head.

"OW! What the hell was that for, white bun?" Kurogane growled, bringing up a hand to swat Mokona off.

The playful banter was interrupted by a huge bird-like kudan swooping down on them, causing dust to fly everywhere. It was so sudden that none of them had sensed it, nor had the time to react, before the kudan was gone, as if it had never been there.

"What was that?" Syaoran asked. Picking up an envelope on the ground, he ripped it open and read the short note within.

_I'll be waiting at Hanshin Castle ~_

The note consisted of this one sentence. Alarmed, Syaoran looked up to see Harry and Mokona missing.

"Fai, Kurogane! Look at this!" Syaoran exclaimed urgently.

Unfortunately, neither of them understood him, nor each other.

* * *

"What in the name of Merlin's saggy Y-fronts do you think you are doing, you idiots?" Harry exploded, looking down at the balcony where a girl and several of her men were standing. The crowd below the building roared in disapproval of his rude words towards their idol.

"Merlin's saggy Y-fronts?" the girl echoed, confused. Harry felt an odd sense of satisfaction, using Ron's favourite curse words against them.

It could have been his imagination, but his body slipped down a little, as the rope moved a little up his torso. "You better have tied this properly," Harry threatened, ignoring Mokona singing next to him. "If I drop from this because of your lousy tying skills, rest assured that I will haunt you and make you kill Voldemort in my place!"

"This boy is weird. Voldemort?" the girl, whom he knew to be called Primera from the screaming crowd, asked the men. "Are you sure he is Syaoran?"

"My name is Harry, not Syaoran," Harry noted dully, enjoying the breeze. It felt like being on a broom and flying again.

"You idiots," Primera screamed at the men, who cowered a little. "You got the wrong person!"

Harry grinned a little as the men tried to explain. He wasn't really angry, in fact he felt lighter than he had in ages after the previous night, and now, seeing the cheering crowd, he felt relieved. Everything seemed so innocent, so happy, that it served to bring his mood up a little, even if he had been kidnapped and tied up on the top of the building with some very low quality rope.

He could cut the rope himself using magic, but his magic levels were still not up to his normal levels, and he didn't want to use magic for now, lest he became like how he was last night when his levels were low, unable to cast the simplest of spells wandlessly.

Lost in his thoughts, Harry didn't notice when Fai, Syaoran, Kurogane arrived.

Harry suddenly felt like he was slipping through the rope again, but this time, instead of simply slipping a little, the rope hanging him actually broke.

He fell down, pulled by gravity. It reminded him of the time when he, Ron and Hermione were running from the Death Eaters on broom, and they were shot down, falling many metres on the ground. It had undermined his confidence on a broom, along with Ron's and Hermione's, considerably. Remembering the memory, he fought down the urge to scream as he recalled the tortures that followed afterwards in Voldemort's dungeons.

"Arresto Momentum!" He shouted, holding his hand out. To hell with saving his magic, if he didn't use it now he'll be dead in a matter of seconds.

The spell slowed his descent and he landed on his feet, not noticing the gobsmacked expressions of Syaoran and Kurogane.

"Avis! Oppugno!" Harry cast, commanding the conjured birds to attack the ropes surrounding Mokona and break them, thereafter bringing him down.

He breathed a sigh of relief when Mokona was brought down safely and ignored the trembling of his hands and legs, which threatened to give way soon.

_Looks like I'll have to wait longer to get my magic levels back to normal, now that I've used up what little I recovered. _Harry grumbled inwardly, before turning around sharply at the sound of clapping.

"Good job, Harry!" Fai grinned. Harry looked at the surprised faces of Syaoran and Kurogane and groaned; it seemed more people knew his secret now. Indeed, the crowd was now silent and staring at him in disbelief.

"Damnit." Harry muttered, running a hand through his messy hair.

"I issue a challenge to Syaoran!" Primera shouted, apparently having gotten back her bearings.

"How am I supposed to get up there?" Syaoran frowned, looking up at the tall building.

Fai grinned, winking at Syaoran. "I may be able to help."

A great wind surrounded him, and the image of a great eagle appeared for a moment before Fai started to float in the air. Without hesitation, he flew towards where Primera was.

Primera summoned a microphone as she saw Fai.

"What the hell is she going to do with that?" Kurogane muttered warily.

"NOW, ARE WE ALL HAVING FUN?" Primera shouted in the microphone, and to Harry's great surprise, solid words formed in midair, towards where Fai was floating.

Fai seemed to not have expected that either; Harry saw his eyes widen minutely before there was an explosion where he was.

"Fai!" Syaoran called out in worry. Harry and Kurogane frowned and peered closer, not believing that he would be defeated just by that.

"Well, I've fought with kudan countless times," Primera said, between her repeated tries to hit Fai, "Even if your kudan is able to fly, your body muscles remain your own." She smirked, thinking that she was going to win.

"You mean his ability to dodge and float like that is his own ability?" Syaoran said incredulously. Harry had came to a similar conclusion and simply wondered if Fai was using magic.

"Look at his damn grin," Kurogane muttered. "He's a combat veteran."

Syaoran nodded. "It wouldn't be too surprising."

Kurogane looked at him in surprise. "You noticed?"

"He carries himself differently. The look in his eyes gives you that impression. It was quite obvious when you know what to find." Syaoran glanced sideways at Harry.

"Er yeah, it was." Harry tried to shrug casually, ignoring the piercing glances of the two. He quickly focused back on the battle, not wanting a conversation about fighting experience to start. Honestly, he hadn't expected them to be so observant.

Primera was just introducing her kudan. "And when my kudan changes form, nothing can beat me!" Indeed, her kudan was now a microphone stand instead of simply a microphone. Harry wondered how such a superficial change can help her.

_With kudan, it can. _A voice echoed in his mind. Harry forced himself to not turn around and start blasting everyone, though he started rather harshly at the unexpected occurrence.

_Prongs? What are you doing in my head? _

_I am your companion, _was the simple reply.

"Sure you are," Harry muttered out loud, ignoring the raised eyebrows of Kurogane at that.

He quickly looked back at the battle, where Primera was now producing double the attacks from before.

"Wow, I guess that change was helpful after all."

There was no cause for worry, however, as Fai had figured out a strategy to get closer. With his usual grin on his face, he jumped onto the solid words and sped towards where Primera was.

He landed on top of her, and Harry saw them exchanging a few words before Primera surrendered.

"Done," Fai said cheerfully as he floated back to where they were standing. "Her kudan is feather-free too. I guess we'll have to search somewhere else."

"You are a flirt," Harry grinned, "I think you embarrassed her."

They looked up, where Primera still had a furious blush on her face. Fai laughed and jumped on Kurogane's back. "Kuro-tan, where is my reward?"

Kurogane swatted Fai off with a huge scowl.

"Well, we just got our next target," Harry said, ignoring the banter between Fai and Kurogane. "Here comes Shougo."

"It should be inside a kudan of one of the people here." Harry said hopefully.

"And we don't know who it is, and kudan only come out when they are protecting their masters," Kurogane continued.

"Companions," Harry corrected. He wasn't going to be Prongs' slave.

Kurogane glanced at him and carried on, ignoring him. "So we'll have to start a big battle, endanger everyone, and get their kudan out." He concluded, a bloodthirsty grin on his face.

Syaoran nodded. Stepping forward, he raised his hand, and his kudan appeared by his side. "Rayearth," Syaoran acknowledged, and turned his glance to Shougo. "I challenge you to a fight, Shougo."

"Accepted."

_Fire against Water, I wonder how they will fight, especially when Syaoran has such a huge disadvantage, _Harry thought, staring at the two kudan.

"He's pretty strong, Syaoran, isn't he?" Fai said, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

Kurogane snorted. "He is more than just a kid, I suppose. You two have that face that says 'Ignore me, I'm harmless!' but fact is, you are not."

"Ah," Fai grinned, "So observant huh, Kuro-tan?"

Kurogane ignored the teasing and turned to Harry, who tensed up. "And you," He said, "You constantly drift off, ignoring everything around you, yet you are paranoid and tense."

Harry shrugged. "I am harmless, then."

A fierce glare was directed his way. "No, you are not."

* * *

"Kudan are controlled by the heart," Shougo said, leaning against his kudan for support. "What is it that makes yours so strong?"

"I have something that I seek."

Shougo nodded. "That makes sense." Without warning, he sent a blast of water at Syaoran, who managed to dodge it. He never expected another blast of water to hit him in the back though.

Syaoran crumbled to the ground.

"Gets them every time," Shougo commented casually.

"Syaoran!" Masayoshi screamed, having just arrived. Syaoran pushed himself up with a grunt and gave a smile to Masayoshi.

"I'm alright." As if to emphasize his point, he raised a fist and sent several fireballs towards Shougo, who doused it with water.

The battle continued.

* * *

Harry was watching the fight interestedly, taking note of Syaoran's great endurance and determination. "He's like Neville, a true Gryffindor," He smiled, remembering Neville's courage at the battle of Hogwarts.

"What is a Gryffindor?" Mokona asked curiously, hopping up onto his shoulder.

Harry froze, not realising he had spoken out loud. "Well-" He was saved from explaining when a sudden explosion sounded.

_Isn't that Masayoshi's kudan? _Harry had noticed Masayoshi coming, but why would his kudan come out for no reason? _It seems bigger than usual._

A sound came from his right shoulder, but he ignored it as a burning sensation started pooling in his chest.

_That kudan is not natural. It is tainted with something._

Before Harry could reply, Prongs materialized at his side.

"Let's go, then." Harry muttered, shoving Mokona into Fai's arms and running after Prongs, who had taken off towards Masayoshi's giant kudan.

"Prongs," Harry said, stopping the stag. "I don't know how to fight with a kudan." He tried to fight off the feelings of shame at the admission, feeling rather inadequate.

Prongs gave a smile and disappeared, leaving a wand in its place. _Then you know how to fight with a wand, right? _

Harry picked the wand up. It was glowing, and as he touched it he felt his magic sing. His magic levels were replenished in an instant, leaving him stronger than he'd ever been for a long time.

A grin broke on his face. "Let's do this, then," Harry smirked. "Diffindo!"

A fierce cut appeared on the kudan, who screamed in rage, turning his attention toward Harry.

"Gemino!" Many copies of Harry appeared, hiding the real him and confusing the kudan, who started scrambling towards the whole lot of them.

Screaming broke out as many people tried not to be stomped on by the kudan.

Thinking quickly, Harry cast the next spell. "Excelsiosempra!" The kudan was sent high in the air, away from the innocents.

"Everyone get out of here!" Harry shouted, enhancing his voice with the Sonorus charm. When he was satisfied that everyone heard him, he cast the counter-spell and turned back to the kudan.

Unfortunately, the kudan had taken advantage of his lapse in attention to fire a huge blast of power at him.

"Protego!" Harry cast in desperation. A shield materialized in front of him. It absorbed some of the impact, but the blast was too strong, it ate through the shield in a matter of seconds and flung Harry back against a wall.

"Merlin," Harry groaned as he felt his bones breaking. Struggling to stand up, he took a look at the area around him. Everyone was either gone or in the air (Shougo and Primera) except for Kurogane, Mokona, Fai, Masayoshi, and Syaoran, who looked to be ready to intervene even though he was still weak from the battle with Shougo.

Making a sweeping motion with his wand, he moved all of them a safe distance away.

He quickly turned back to the kudan, who seemed to be readying another attack.

"Now we can't have that," he smirked. "Accio!"

Having cast the counter-spell to the _excelsiosempra _spell, the kudan fell to the ground hard, the huge impact leaving a crater on the ground.

Seeing the kudan writhe in pain, Harry felt a brief flash of pity. "Stupefy," he uttered. Hopefully he could get the feather out without causing much pain to the kudan.

The spell bounced off.

In a surprising show of agility, the kudan pushed himself up and lunged towards Harry, gripping him tightly in his huge fist.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Sectumsempra," He cast instinctively. Fierce slashes appeared all over the kudan. Masayoshi screamed from the ground, and he looked down, only to see the boy writhing in pain as well.

_I have to end this quickly._

Just then, the kudan glowed, and Harry's sharp eyes cause a glimpse of the feather before it disappeared into the kudan. Before he could do anything, the fist surrounding him loosened and he dropped, hurtling towards the ground at an alarming speed.

"Deprimo," He shouted, pointing his wand towards the kudan's chest and ignoring the fact that he was about to hit the ground. It was now or never. Harry didn't know if the feather was going to appear again if he waited, and he wanted to avoid causing unnecessary pain to Masayoshi.

A strong wind started up, and as it swept across the kudan, the feather appeared again, lying innocently on the kudan.

"Arresto Momentum," Harry slowed down his descent, but it was too late to cast the spell, now that he was so close to the ground. He hit the ground hard and felt his left shoulder dislodge.

He couldn't give up now. "Accio feather," He shouted, ignoring the pain coursing through him.

The feather remained still.

Acting on instinct, Harry threw the wand towards the ground, and it changed back to Prongs. Without thinking, he lunged himself, Prongs beside him, towards where the feather was. Summoning a glowing ball in his hand, he threw it at the feather.

The ball enveloped the feather after a brief power struggle, and brought it back to Harry, who clenched it in his fist tightly.

The kudan, without the feather, shrunk back to its normal size.

Harry, holding the feather tightly, was subjected to gravity's hold again. Before he could hit the ground however, Prongs released another glowing ball and threw it towards him, enveloping him and floating him lightly to the ground.

"Harry!" Syaoran called urgently.

Blinking his eyes open, he saw his companions surrounding him, all looking very worried. His eyes found Prongs'.

"Thanks," He said to the stag, which inclined his head towards him and disappeared. Turning his head back to his companions, he smiled and opened his fist, where the glowing feather laid, not at all crumpled by his harsh grip earlier.

"Here you go," he tried to push his hand towards Syaoran, urging him to take it, but the hand merely twitched.

Syaoran took the feather from his hand. "Thank you, Harry." He said gratefully.

Harry gave a weak grin in reply. He was suddenly very tired, and the pain of his injuries hit him all at once. He lost consciousness.

* * *

End Chapter.

* * *

A/N: I am sorry for the wait! Hopefully the longer chapter makes up for it. I think I've outdone myself this time. 14 pages! Well, I hope the quality lives up to the quantity. Thank you for all the kind words and for taking the time to read. If you have any constructive criticism, I would be very glad to hear them.

I hope the 'battle scene' has improved from the previous chapter. Also, all spells are taken from Wiki and can be found either in the movies or the books. I have added some extra 'functions' for some spells, but I try to keep them as realistic as possible.

I am sorry about the scene of Harry's kudan dream, I do hope it wasn't too cheesy.

-Short Chapter Analysis-

Right now, Harry's relationship with Fai has become closer, and relationships with Syaoran, Kurogane and Mokona is going to improve soon as well. Through the chapter, Harry is learning to slowly let go and cope with the effects of the war, as you can see (if you are observant) the difference in how he handles those memories that come out unexpectedly, as the chapter moves on.

Icylone


	4. Haunting Memories

Please refer to Chapter 2 for Disclaimer.

Summary: In the final battle with Voldemort, things took for the worst. In a last act of desperation, Remus Lupin, Minerva McGonagall, and Nymphadora Tonks sent the Boy-who-lived to the Dimension witch, hoping for more time for Harry to train. A team is formed and a journey is beginning. Sakura/Syaoran. No other pairings.

Warnings: Character Death, mention of sacrificial of an unborn baby. Please approach with caution, may be triggery to some.

To be on the safe side, the characters' actions and thoughts does not reflect my opinions.

Author Notes: Many thanks to **Anbu Fox**, who gave me a great idea, which quickly developed into one of the important plot points of this story!

* * *

**From Chapter 3**

"_**Here you go," he tried to push his hand towards Syaoran, urging him to take it, but the hand merely twitched. **_

_**Syaoran took the feather from his hand. "Thank you, Harry." He said gratefully.**_

_**Harry gave a weak grin in reply. He was suddenly very tired, and the pain of his injuries hit him all at once. He lost consciousness.**_

* * *

Chapter 4 – Haunting Memories

"_It seems too quiet," Ron frowned as he crouched behind a bush with Harry. Sneaking a glance around them, Ron could see the silhouettes of the other Order members behind trees, bushes, or even behind a large rock. "What do you reckon, Harry?"_

_The dark haired boy crouching beside him moved a little to get a better view of the house. "Maybe they're sleeping or something," he muttered. "Or out on a raid somewhere." He held up an Omnioculars and peered through the device carefully. Ron signalled for the Order to wait. _

"_Don't see anyone," Harry whispered, twisting the knobs on the Omnioculars to get a better view. He passed it to Ron, who held it up to his eyes and did the same thing. There was no motion at all in the house. He took the Omnioculars away from his eyes, and turned to Harry. "Doesn't it seem sort of suspicious, mate? From the reports, the house should be full of activity."_

_An owl hooted overhead, causing an Order member to jump. The rustling of the bush caused by the action seemed especially loud in the quiet of the night. Harry shot a glare towards the culprit, undoubtedly a new recruit. "Maybe we should send someone to look around first," he whispered, his green eyes glowing eerily in the dark. _

_Before Ron could reply, a soft 'thunk' sounded behind them. "What's with the delay, Weasley, Potter?" Mad-eye said gruffly, careful to keep his voice low. _

"_The house seems too quiet."_

_Alastor snatched up the Omnioculars and peered intently at the house for a while, before returning it and nodding his head. "I say we send someone down first, to see if the Death Eaters are waiting in an ambush for us."_

"_I'll go," Harry volunteered, already halfway up. Before he could go off towards the house, Ron stood up as well, following behind him. "You need someone to watch your back," he stated simply when Harry looked at him questioningly. Harry gave a curt nod. Clutching his wand tightly, he began stealthily moving towards the house, hiding behind trees and bushes as he moved. Ron did the same, both men never letting down their guard. When there was no more vegetation to hide behind, both of them dropped to the ground and started crawling towards the house, with as little movement as possible so as to avoid detection. _

"_Ready, 1, 2…" Harry muttered. Ron stiffened next to him, both ready for a possible attack._

"_3!" Both of them sprinted the short distance to the house, Harry hiding behind a pipe. As Harry was halfway through directing a grin at Ron, thinking that they were just too paranoid, he heard Ron scream, and saw his body disappearing around a corner. Horrified into action, he lost his cool, sprinting towards Ron's location, at the same time sending up sparks to warn the Order members of the situation. _

_He turned the corner, wand at the ready, just to see a green light strike his best friend of 12 years. Ron slumped bonelessly onto the ground, the life leaving his blue eyes. Harry barely had a moment to react before he was hit with a Crucio._

_He screamed._

Harry felt someone shaking him frantically, calling his name. His green eyes opened swiftly, and with reflexes honed from years of fighting, quickly attacked the culprit, pinning him down. Having neutralised the threat, he looked down at the culprit, only to see a brown-haired teenager staring back up at him with a hint of alarm.

He stared at him blankly for a few seconds, still not registering his identity, before his mind supplied him with the name Syaoran. In a flash, he remembered the journey, the Dimension Witch, and his fight with Prongs. He rolled off Syaoran quickly. "Sorry," Harry muttered, looking anywhere but at Syaoran.

"It's alright," Syaoran replied, clearly as awkward as he was. The awkward moment was shattered when Harry fell to his knees. "Are you okay?" Syaoran asked, alarmed, as he helped Harry up.

"Just a bit weak," Harry muttered tiredly. Syaoran helped him back to where a pile of clothes were arranged, to substitute as Harry's bed while he was asleep. "Go back to sleep," Syaoran said, gently lowering Harry's head on the pile of clothes. Harry tried to give a smile in thanks, but his lips only twitched a little in response. He felt his eyes flutter shut again, and he returned to the world of memories again.

_It was burning. Blood was everywhere, the precious life spilling from motionless bodies. Harry never stopped running, afraid to see the faces of his loved ones. He kept his head high, ignoring the urge to look down, to see exactly who he was jumping over as he made for the Shrieking Shack. Hermione and Ron tried to follow him, but they were quickly engaged by Death Eaters, and they soon lost sight of Harry as he turned the corner. _

"_Longbottom, was it? I remember your parents well," Voldemort's high voice could be heard. Harry skidded to a stop, just a distance from Neville. Neville was trembling, but he held the Gryffindor sword high, staring Voldemort squarely in the eyes. _

"_Now don't just stand there, Harry, haven't anyone taught you any manners?" Voldemort turned to him, his red eyes glinting. A fierce sneer formed on Harry's face, but he complied. He stood beside Neville, and both shared a fleeting look, one of fearful determination, the other of reassurance. Harry raised his wand, and before the Death Eaters could react, he brought the wand down in a slashing motion. A streak of purple flames burst out of his phoenix and holly wand, bringing the Death Eaters down in one swoop, groaning and going unconscious. _

_He smirked. _

"_What would Dumbledore say now, Harry?" Voldemort mocked, making a tut tut sound. He was still standing, not having been affected by Harry's curse due to a shield he had on himself. "His golden boy casting dark spells." _

_Harry snorted, ignoring Neville's shocked gasp beside him. "He'll just say 'Good riddance to bad rubbish'." _

_That seemed to be their cue, for at that, both wizards started duelling fiercely. Voldemort had more experience and power, but Harry wasn't to be underestimated as well. Spells rocketed back and forth between them, and Neville couldn't help but stare for a few moments, until he noticed Harry trying to shoot him looks to direct him to where Nagini was sitting, hissing in pleasure at the fight, which Voldemort was clearly winning._

_Neville gulped at the sight of the large snake, but summoned up his Gryffindor courage. With a swift movement, he ran towards the large cobra and brought the blade down, cutting off its head. He grinned in triumph._

_Voldemort turned around in fury, realising that he had been tricked. "You'll pay for that, Longbottom," he hissed angrily. Neville paled, noticing Harry lying bloodied on the ground. _

"_Crucio!" Voldemort cast, brandishing his wand roughly at him. "You'll go the same way as your parents, Longbottom."_

_The pain hit him like a ton of bricks, and he screamed. He screamed, his body on fire, his veins throbbing with pain. Through the haze of pain, he saw Harry push himself up with a great effort, and threw himself at Neville, screaming a single word, "Phoenix!" _

_As the pain suddenly stopped and he felt a pulling force at his navel, he heard Voldemort cast one final spell in fury. _

_And when the pair landed on cold hard ground, away from danger, Neville felt a warm liquid dripping on his arm. Still delirious from the pain, he stared blearily at Harry._

_Harry clutched his wand arm tightly, a look of pain overtaking his features, before he fell to the ground, gasping and moaning and thrashing about._

_Neville scrambled to his feet, ignoring the soreness in his body. "Harry!" He yelled frantically. "Harry!"_

"Harry!" Harry felt himself being shaken. "Harry!" The voice shouted again, more loudly. Harry groaned, and blinked his eyes open with considerable effort.

Mokona stood on his face, peering into his eyes worriedly. Harry startled and sat up, shaking Mokona off his face.

"Syaoran said that might happen," Mokona sat up, looking at him.

Harry shifted awkwardly, pushing all his painful memories behind his Occlumency shields. "I'm fine, Mokona." He pushed himself to a standing position and looked around curiously.

"Where are they?" He mused, mostly to himself. "And where is this place?"

Mokona bounced up and down cheerfully. "Mokona brought all of you to Koriyo. Syaoran left Mokona here to look after you, and Sakura and Chun Hyang. But they left… Syaoran will be angry with Mokona…" Mokona's ears drooped and he shuffled a little. Harry raised an eyebrow. Koriyo? Chun Hyang? It seems that he was missing a lot here. He bent forward, picking up Mokona in his hands.

"Tell me everything that has happened."

Mokona grinned at him cheerfully. "Sure! But first, I think Yuuko wants to talk to you about something…"

* * *

His body was tense, his eyes darting about warily, and a grimace crossed his face as the horse he was riding on jerked a little. It was official. Harry Potter hated riding on horses. He maintained an iron-like grip on the reins, trying not to scowl when he saw how comfortable the other four looked on their horses.

"I feel like we're not welcome here," Fai muttered as yet another window slammed shut before they passed by.

They continued on, all of them tense at the silence, before they came across a little girl. Syaoran smiled gently at the girl. "Hello, I want to ask you something about this town…" Before the little girl could reply, she was quickly dragged indoors by her mother.

"Well, if we can't talk to anyone, we can't confirm if that legend was real or not," Harry grumbled in slight frustration. Usually, he would not be as grumpy, but considering the circumstances he was in, what with his wand and everything, he felt that it was justified.

"_This wand will help you greatly in your journey. Are you going to, out of some misplaced sense of guilt, be leaving it here?" _Yuuko's voice echoed in his head once again.

Harry quickly shoved the memory behind his Occlumency Shields and concentrated on the road. He snapped his head up when he heard the faint sound of galloping, coming closer and closer to where they were at. His wand hand trembled with anticipation.

"Who are you?" A man on a horse snarled at them. Harry resisted the urge to start fighting, especially when their guns were pointing accusingly at them.

Syaoran took the lead. "We are travelling around the world to investigate old legends and architectures."

The man narrowed his eyes, clearly suspicious. "What for?"

Without missing a beat, Syaoran replied "To write a book." Fai and Kurogane were clearly surprised by this, but Harry kept his face impassive.

"This person here, he is the writer," Syaoran started explaining as the man continued to look suspicious, pointing at Fai.

Fai picked up where Syaoran had left off easily. "This girl is my sister, the boy is my assistant. And this man here, he is… my manservant." Fai smiled at them, ignoring how Kurogane's face had contorted in rage.

"What about this boy here?"

Fai hesitated, and Harry smoothly continued. "At my age, I can be considered a man, my dear stranger. I'm an expert they hired on legends, and I assist them in that regard." At the man's suspicious look, Harry lifted an eyebrow smoothly, a mask of arrogance fixed firmly in place. During the war, he had had to act often, to get the Order out of tight situations. Considering the fact that he was the Boy-Who-Lived, he often had to act accordingly to the situation, to achieve his various purposes. So he wasn't really concerned about the fact that he was currently emulating Lucius Malfoy.

The man looked rather affronted at his tone, but also rather sheepish that he had been so rude to an 'expert'. "Well, I…" Before he could finish his sentence, however, another man ran towards them, interrupting.

"Why are you pointing your rifles at innocent travellers?" The man demanded, ignoring the other's attempts to explain. "It is precisely because of the fact that they are foreigners that we should be polite to them!"

He turned towards them. "I apologise for our rudeness." With that, he bowed politely.

"Welcome to Spirit!"

* * *

"_Yuuko." Harry bowed his head politely. The Dimension Witch did the same._

"_Mokona said that you wished to speak with me," He started, glancing at a slumbering Mokona, who was currently providing the hologram for them to speak with each other. _

"_Yes." Yuuko turned and picked up something from a table, before holding it out to him. _

"_What is it?" Harry asked warily, staring at the elegant box she held in her hands. At his question, she opened the box, to reveal two wands. The elder wand and his first Holly and Pheonix wand. _

_Harry sucked in a breath, surprised but delighted to see his first wand again. His hand reached out reverently towards the wands, but quickly stopped himself. "What is the catch, for giving me back my wand?" He said suspiciously._

"_The price for both your wands," she emphasized on the fact that both wands belonged to him, "has been paid in full." _

_Harry shook his head stubbornly, firmly keeping his eyes away from the wands. "I think I would have known if I paid a price for the two wands, it would have been a hefty price."_

_Yuuko sighed in exasperation, and seated herself, clearly preparing for a long conversation. Harry followed her example, dragging a nearby chair to seat himself comfortably in._

"_The price was paid by your two friends, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, before you came to me. They requested for the wand to be returned to you when you most need it, which I find to be now, especially with Fei Wong Reed keeping tabs on you and your current lack of defence capability."_

_Harry ignored the comment about someone keeping tabs on him, more interested in the fact that Ron and Hermione had known of the Dimension Witch, especially when Dumbledore had only told it to a select few. _

"_What price did they pay?" Harry found himself asking in morbid curiosity. Yuuko looked hesitant for a moment, before her face became impassive again. _

"_Their lives, as well as their souls' freedom to pass on after death." _

_Harry felt bile rise up into his throat. "What?" He uttered hoarsely, unable to believe his ears._

_A look of pity crossed Yuuko's face, but it was so fleeting it was as if it had never been there. "One afternoon, both of them came here, asking for me to fulfil a wish. Their wish was to for me to retrieve both your wands when it was taken forcibly from you, and return it to you when you need it the most. For that wish, both agreed to sacrifice their lives, but the price was not enough. Their wish involved meddling with yours and perhaps countless others' destinies, and the price would be hefty. In the end, they decided to sacrifice their souls as well to make up the price. When they pass on, their souls would remain here, serving, and unable to move on."_

_Harry froze in horror, unable to comprehend her words. _

"_So, they were meant to die all this while? And they knew it?" _

"_They felt that this was worthy enough, and perhaps crazy enough, to save your world."_

_Harry remained still for a few moments, his brain struggling to catch up with what he had just been told. He couldn't comprehend the fact that Ron and Hermione knew they were going to die. Did Ron go into that mission knowing he would die? Did Hermione know? Did they sit in meetings, knowing what they were about to face?_

"_No." Harry said finally. "Return their sacrifices to them, I can do without the wands. I know wandless magic, I can cope. Return their lives to them. Give the wands back to the Dark Lord, whatever, just return the sacrifice."_

_Yuuko shook her head. "They knew you would say that, and they have said clearly not to revoke their wish."_

"_I don't want it. I don't care how, just return their sacrifice. I don't want the wands, I don't need it. They need their lives, give it back to them." Harry pleaded, ignoring Yuuko shaking her head. It was so logical, didn't she get it? He didn't need the wands, therefore Ron and Hermione's wish was invalid, so they should get their sacrifice back, right?_

_Yuuko sighed again. Withdrawing a scroll from her pocket, she handed it to Harry, who took it hesitantly. "Your friends knew you would react like that, and they asked for me to pass you this."_

"_What is the price?"_

_Yuuko hesitated, and made to close the conversation, but Harry would have none of it. "I want to know," he demanded fiercely, his green eyes glaring at her._

"_The dead and the living cannot communicate, especially when it is in the case of a mortal sacrificing their life."_

_Harry ignored her attempts at side stepping his question. "I want to know," he repeated._

"_Very well," Yuuko sighed. "They sacrificed the life of their unborn daughter." _

_Harry dropped the scroll in horror._

A loud click from Sakura's room brought him out of his thoughts. He hesitated for a moment. Should he check on her? In a way, it would be invading her privacy. Yet Syaoran had asked him to help look out for her as well.

A loud thump from her room sealed his decision.

"Princess Sakura?" He knocked on the wooden door. "Are you alright in there?"

Empty silence greeted him.

"Do you want me to come in?"

When there was no response, his instincts took over and he pushed the door open roughly, only to see an empty room, with the windows open wide.

He rushed to the window and looked down. There was no sign of anyone, but from where he was he could see faint footprints leading away from the house, already getting covered by the falling snow.

He made to jump out of the window in pursuit, but at the last moment stopped. Climbing down from the window, he quickly penned a note to Syaoran.

Then he jumped.

* * *

"Good morning!" Fye greeted cheerfully as he stretched. Syaoran smiled back and nodded while Kurogane just ignored him.

"I'm just going to check on-" Syaoran started, walking towards Sakura's room, only to see her room door wide open. "Sakura!"

The three barged into the room, looking around frantically for the princess. Kurogane's eyes fell upon the open window. "She went out through there," he muttered, pointing to show his point.

"The snow was too heavy last night; the tracks would all have been covered."

Syaoran spied a note on the floor and bent down to pick it up, hoping that it would help to uncover her whereabouts. On the note, in an untidy scrawl, was written:

_Princess went out. Don't know why. Am going to find her._

_Harry._

* * *

_Where was she? _

_Harry shielded himself as much as he could from the falling snow, which allowed himself only limited vision of his surroundings. Sakura's tracks had completely been covered._

_Harry walked towards a tree and broke off a stick. It wasn't particularly smooth nor was it long enough, but it would do._

"_Point me Princess Sakura." _

_The stick lay motionless for a few seconds before turning, slowly and laboriously. Harry watched with baited breath as the stick finally pointed towards a direction. He ignored the exhaustion creeping up on him with the magic, which was supposed to be performed with a wand instead of a stick, and ploughed through the snow, never taking his eyes off the stick._

_He finally stopped before a raging river. The current was fast and strong, and he doubted that he could cross it in his current state. He looked up at where the stick was pointing. _

_The sight of a castle took away his breath at first sight, and he frantically looked down, pushing back memories of Hogwarts burning. _

I have to save her.

_He took a deep breath and stared at the river again, throwing down his stick. Well, that was one route he could count out. _

_Harry waved his hand at himself. "WIngardium Leviosa!" He smirked as he felt himself rising up, and slowly directed himself towards the other side of the river._

"_Easy," he muttered as he landed. He turned towards the castle, feeling a little winded. His long rest had been a good thing; at least he could perform more magic now without collapsing._

_He braced himself and entered the castle. For a moment he wished he still had his stick to guide him, but the sight of the footsteps on the ground brought relief to him. _

_He followed the footsteps carefully, keeping an eye out for any potential aggressors. A loud clank startled him, and he immediately went towards the source. _

"_Shit," he muttered as he compressed himself against a wall. A group of children, the missing children, he corrected himself, was walking down the corridor. _

_Harry looked closely at them and let out a sigh of relief. They looked to be unharmed, but the vacant look in their eyes was a little worrying. He resolved to check them out after he rescued the princess._

_Another clank. Harry paused for a moment to make sure the children had all gone, before proceeding. _

"_Princess Sakura?" He murmured, staring into a dark cell. _

"_I'm in here!" _

_Harry grabbed the wooden stick holding the door in place and threw it on the ground casually before pulling the door open._

_His eyes fell upon the princess, her foot chained securely to a bed. Her eyes lit up with recognition at the sight of him._

"_I knew the cell was just too insecurely locked," Harry muttered when he saw the chains, rolling his eyes as he approached her. _

_He frowned as he stared at the chain. "Don't move."_

_Harry raised his right hand at the chain. "Incendio!" A small flame erupted from his palm, slowly melting the chains away. When the chains were nothing more than melted steel on the ground, he stood up again and helped her up. _

"_Thank you," she said gratefully. "But how did you know I was here?"_

_Harry shrugged in response. "I need to check on some kids in this castle. Did you see them?"_

"_Oh! I know where they went, this way!" She ran out of the cell and towards a direction where the footprints were leading. Harry did not hesitate to follow._

_Their path led them towards a large room, where the children was gathered at, surrounding a portrait. Harry couldn't hold in the sudden intake of breath as the portrait door swung open, much like in Hogwarts._

"_Wait!" The princess' voice resonated throughout the room as a child climbed through the door. Almost as once, all the children in the room turned towards her ominously. Harry cursed and stepped in front of her, one arm stretched out protectively in front of her. Children or not, when placed under something like the Imperius curse they were dangerous. _

_The children started to walk slowly towards them, their eyes as vacant as ever. Harry readied himself to fight, but before he could do anything the sight of the small stature of the children struck him._

_Could he really harm the people who he had taken priority in protecting in the war?_

"_We'll have to run," he muttered hoarsely to the princess. She nodded hesitantly. _

_Before they could run, however, a form materialised before them. "Princess Emeraude!" Sakura exclaimed as all thoughts of running left her._

_Harry didn't move from his defensive position. "What is your purpose here?"_

_Princess Emeraude looked surprised. "You can see me?" She exclaimed._

_Harry raised an eyebrow. "Yes, of course."_

_Princess Emeraude recovered quickly and turned back to Sakura. "This is yours." With that, she turned towards a child walking towards them. The child raised the object in her hands up to Sakura._

"_My feather," Sakura breathed as she received it. "Thank you."_

"Sakura!" The Docter's voice rang out. Both of them turned to see him running towards them. "I was looking for the both of you! Are you alright? Sakura, you shouldn't be running around barefooted, it's not good for your feet."

Sakura looked confused and a little wary. "How did you know I was barefooted?" Harry glanced down at her feet, and sure enough, it was covered by her dress. Doctor Kyle could not have known that, unless…

Harry shifted his stance subtly into a defensive one as he watched him warily.

Silence reigned for a moment before the Doctor started to laugh.

"Just like that Syaoran, both of you are too clever for your own good, huh?" The Doctor laughed before stopping abruptly. "Give me the feather!" He made to lunge at Sakura, but Harry was faster.

"Stupefy!"

Doctor Kyle slumped to the floor just as Syaoran, Fye and Kurogane turned the corner. "Sakura!" Syaoran shouted, running to her side. "Are you hurt?"

Sakura gave him a smile. "I'm alright, thanks for worrying about me."

"Good job!" Fye exclaimed, slapping Harry on his back. Kurogane just stared at him carefully and grunted.

"We need to get out of here," Syaoran said, looking back where they came from.

"Then let's get our arses and them," here Kurogane looked at the children, "out of here."

Before anyone could respond, however, the sound of rushing water reached them.

"Knew that water-controlling device was just too rusty to work properly," Fye said casually, leisurely stretching before picking up a few children in his arms. "Well, I guess we better run."

"What about him?" Sakura asked hesitantly, looking at the slumped figure of the Doctor.

"Leave him here." All eyes turned to Harry who had spoken. Harry thought he saw an approving look on Kurogane's face.

Sakura looked uncertain as she stared between the person who had saved her and the person who had chained her. "But he… he will die if he is left here!" She knelt down beside the slumped figure and tried to carry him. "It's alright, I can… support… him!" She forced out as she struggled with his weight.

"No, Sakura, don't!" Syaoran shouted out in panic as he saw the Doctor begin to stir. In a flash, the Doctor had a knife to her throat, his other hand holding her tightly to stop her struggling. Sakura gasped in surprise.

Syaoran pressed his lips together and his eyes burned with fire. "Let her go." One would have been particularly dense to not catch the dangerous tone in his words.

The Doctor sneered at him, and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the castle began to collapse. The bricks of the castle crumbled and a loud noise of rushing water was clearer than ever.

"Get the children out of here!" Syaoran shouted to Kurogane and Fye, who smirked and started to pick up the children- they looked fearfully at them before deciding that they had no choice but to go with them.

In the midst of the confusion, Harry raised his hand, and aimed carefully. "Expelliarmus!" He cried, deftly plucking the knife flying at him.

Syaoran took the opportunity to snatch Sakura away from the Doctor as he stared at his hand blankly.

"So, another sorcerer, huh?" The Doctor murmured. "How interesting. He must know of this news."

"Who is he?" Harry challenged, ignoring the water swirling round his feet.

Sakura's scream broke them out of their conversation; she had been hit by a falling brick. Syaoran cursed and picked her up bridal style, carefully making sure the feather was still with them. For a moment Syaoran looked at him.

Harry smirked at him. "You go on, I have some matters to settle with him."

Syaoran gave him a smile and nod of thanks, before turning the other way and escaping with the unconscious Sakura.

"Who is he?" Harry repeated coolly, staring at the Doctor again. The water level was rising steadily, and Harry knew he had to escape soon if he wanted to continue to stay in the world of living.

The Doctor smirked at him. "Someone you ought to fear."

Harry made a rude noise of disgust. "Thanks, but the only person I fear is not in this world, buddy."

A large piece of rock came crashing down from the collapsing ceiling, and Harry cursed violently as the rock landed right in front of him, on the Doctor. In the brief moments before the rock impacted, he had felt a flare of magic, which must have meant that the Doctor had escaped. Damn.

Another huge piece of rock fell, and he barely managed to dodge it. "Looks like I need to get out of here soon," Harry murmured, panic coursing through him for the first time as he saw that all the entrances were blocked by the debris.

He closed his eyes.

* * *

End Chapter.

* * *

A/N: There you go! It is a bit shorter than the previous one, but I thought it was getting a bit draggy so I ended it earlier than I wanted to at first.

Things are moving rather slowly now, so I'm rather dissatisfied with this chapter, but I promise things will move much faster after the gang reaches Piffle, which should be within the next two chapters. Coz that is when more of my plot points will come into place.

I am sorry for the long wait! The next chapter should be a long while away. I am going to keep my laptop and concentrate on my exams soon.

Icylone


	5. Rewrite up

Hi all, apologies for the long wait. The rewritten version of EtF is now up, under the name "The Last Resort".

This story will be taken down once TLR catches up with it in terms of story progression.

Icylone


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